Changing Statements into Questions

1. Look for a helping verb in the sentence.  Common helping verbs include have, has, and had. Additionally, words like “should,” “would,” “could,” “might,” “may,” and “will” are helping verbs. Re-read the sentence to see if it has any helping verbs. Here are examples of sentences with the helping verb bolded: ^[1]

• The teachers  have treated us kindly.
• They  had already eaten.
• She  will win the fight.

2. Move the helping verb to the front of the sentence to make a question.  Rewrite the sentence with the helping verb as the first word. Leave the other words in the same place and write them exactly as they appear in the statement. This will turn your statement into a question. Here are some examples: ^[2]

• The teachers  have treated us kindly. →  Have the teachers treated us kindly?
• They  had already eaten. →  Had they already eaten?
• She  will win the fight. →  Will she win the fight?

3. Use the first helping verb if the sentence has more than 1 helping verb.  Sometimes you’ll have a sentence that includes more than 1 helping verb to describe an action. For instance, you might say “will have taken” or “could have been.” In this case, only move the first helping verb to the front of the sentence. Leave the remaining words where they are. Look at these examples: ^[3]

• Your brother  has been growing quickly. →  Has your brother  been growing quickly?
• I  could have been studying. →  Could I  have been studying?